Waiver for meeting...

[Boiler 43,392]

i've seen it come up in a couple of comments now-did i miss when it suddenly became an easy, no big deal for the average, single, under age 65 MENA guy to get a tourist visa here? or an afghan? i was under the impression that in these here parts, they were still pretty much as rare as unicorns.

I am not going to disagree, but not relevant.

[Moomin 292]

When it's not a possibility for you to travel, then you're definitely looking into a tourist visa for him.

Him having family in the US isn't a factor that'll help to prove strong ties to home country during an interview. Getting married isn't a factor that'll help to prove strong ties to home country either. It is perfectly legal to get married on a tourist visa but by having a spouse in the US, you're creating one more tie to the US, and one less tie to home country. Getting a tourist visa is mostly about demonstrating the ties the tourist has to home country so that the tourist is bound to return rather than try to immigrate on a non-immigrant visa.

You can look on the us embassy in his home country to see what sorts of documents are considered ties to home country here; http://kabul.usembassy.gov/general_documentation_requirements.html

The meeting requirement is a tough one to waive. Meeting in a 3rd country is a solution too. And as someone already said, you do not have to date when meeting. It's tough but not impossible.

[SaharaSunset 165]

Nothing wrong with Marrying on a Tourist Visa, and leaving.

Yes. But obtaining a tourist visa with the intent to marry instead of "tour" is technically fraud. Whether or not they find out your true intentions, or choose to worry about it is another story. Apparently as long as USCIS is under the impression that it was just a spur of the moment marriage, and you return to your home country to file for the proper visa, then yeah, you're fine. But again, if you get a tourist visa with the pure intent of marriage, you are misrepresenting your purpose of entering the country, and it is fraud. Think about it.....if there was "nothing wrong" with it, then why do they even have the distinction of a "tourist visa" and a "fiance visa?"

[Boiler 43,392]

Nothing wrong with marrying on a Tourist Visa.

There is a whole industry out there.

Las Vegas Baby!

[txgirl 1]

We will be meeting in a third country and will go from there. Thank you all for your input.

[Crossed_fingers 128]

Yes. But obtaining a tourist visa with the intent to marry instead of "tour" is technically fraud. Whether or not they find out your true intentions, or choose to worry about it is another story. Apparently as long as USCIS is under the impression that it was just a spur of the moment marriage, and you return to your home country to file for the proper visa, then yeah, you're fine. But again, if you get a tourist visa with the pure intent of marriage, you are misrepresenting your purpose of entering the country, and it is fraud. Think about it.....if there was "nothing wrong" with it, then why do they even have the distinction of a "tourist visa" and a "fiance visa?"

I'm not sure that this is correct. How is coming on a tourist visa with the intention to marry, but then go back home and thus only spend a vacation-like period of time in the U.S., different from coming here on a tourist visa and visiting your brother or cousin while you're here? Or having a reunion with old school buddies? Or coming here to sit in a hotel room for 2 weeks and not go out and "tour" anything? I was under the impression that the defining characteristics of the tourist visa are that the recipient will return home after a set period of time and not earn income while here. A distinction between the tourist visa and the fiance visa is that the person who comes in on the fiance visa has the intention of adjusting status and remaining here after marriage. I have never heard of there being a problem with someone coming to the U.S., marrying, and going home within the legally allotted period of time and then filing a petition and getting in line with the rest of the married folks.

[Moomin 292]

Yes. But obtaining a tourist visa with the intent to marry instead of "tour" is technically fraud. Whether or not they find out your true intentions, or choose to worry about it is another story. Apparently as long as USCIS is under the impression that it was just a spur of the moment marriage, and you return to your home country to file for the proper visa, then yeah, you're fine. But again, if you get a tourist visa with the pure intent of marriage, you are misrepresenting your purpose of entering the country, and it is fraud. Think about it.....if there was "nothing wrong" with it, then why do they even have the distinction of a "tourist visa" and a "fiance visa?"

No, it is not fraud to get married or obtain a tourist visa that way as long as OP is honest about it during interview. There's nothing to misrepresent upon entering UNLESS he flat out lies about those intentions at the interview or at POE.

Fiance visa is a fiance visa because you enter with both the intentions of marrying AND adjusting status. It's got nothing to do with only marrying.You don't need a cr-1 instead of a tourist visa because you're married. You need a tourist visa when you intent on visiting and returning to home country.

[RFQ 110]

i've seen it come up in a couple of comments now-did i miss when it suddenly became an easy, no big deal for the average, single, under age 65 MENA guy to get a tourist visa here? or an afghan? i was under the impression that in these here parts, they were still pretty much as rare as unicorns.

Idk... I guess we were extra blessed. It was a completely non event for us last February. No one batted an eye.